Wednesday, July 25, 2012

RNA Conference 2012 Kitchen Report – The Romaniac Kitchen, Penrith

It was the first conference for most of The Romaniacs and with seven
out of nine of us attending, we already knew we were going to have one heck of
a kitchen party. We had our own karaoke backing track system, lead vocals by
LauraJames, plenty of wine, several
bottles of champagne and Catherine Miller brought some very special Morello
Cherry homemade wine, circa 1975, courtesy of her late Grandad. Celia Anderson
made some delicious cakes.Oh, and in
true student style, Lucie Wheeler provided the Super Noodles.

It could only have been better if our lovely Jan Brigden and Liz Crump
had been there.

To sum up our kitchen party, we thought we’d share a page from our
Visitors’ Book …

Friday, 13 July 2012

Dear Kitchen, Thank you for helping me rediscover the joy singing can
bring. And also the pain. Love, Laura.

Nikki Goodman : Ah, how
will I ever forget the Romaniacs’ kitchen? There was wine (some of it homemade
vintage circa ’75 that threatened toxic shock syndrome), there were snacks and
there was singing! Best of all was the laughter. A kitchen beyond all compare.

What goes on in the kitchen, stays in the kitchen. Except when it’s
videoed and put on Facebook and You Tube. (Laura)

They say the kitchen is always the hub of the party, and in this case,
it most certainly was! (Lucie)

THIS is what Romantic Novelists look like! (Debbie White)

Jane Holland : Those three
glasses of 1975 Morello Cherry homemade wine will stay with me for life.

The Romaniacs needed a good get together and what better way than to do
it with friends. That and alcohol which could change the way you see the world.
That’s why at the time we were all singing like angels. (Catherine)

Sue Moorcroft : That was
a great night! The homemade wine from 1975 scared me a bit but when I offered
to buy some ‘real’ wine, the soothing, ‘Oh, we’ve got some of that if you want
it,’ made me feel like a lightweight. The Romaniacs were fantastic company,
every one of them. I just hope I’m invited to their kitchen parties in the
future. Xxx

We may have had a naughty kitchen, but it wasn’t dirty, having been
sterilised with alcohol. (Laura)

Ever since joining the RNA, I’ve aspired to the heady heights of having
one of the Naughty Kitchens at a conference.
And now, thanks to some wonderful company, a lot of alcohol and loud
singing, I think I can say I’ve done it – and got the YouTube evidence to prove
it. (Vanessa)

Mandy James : My
accommodation was next to the Romaniacs’. How did I know? The raucous
caterwauling and shrieks of laughter gave it away.

I left my quieter party and went
to investigate … they wouldn’t let me leave, even though I insisted I didn’t
want a drink or to sing at the top of my lungs. But eventually I had a small
sherry … When in Rome-aniacs … see what I did there?

Two hours later the police came
to close us down. Well, OK, a slight exaggeration, there was only one arrest.
We had an amazing time and I recommend that the naughty kitchen be free on the
NHS!

When I found out we were in student accommodation, I decided that I
needed use this opportunity as research (I got that tip from Jane Wenham-Jones)
and what better way than to fully immerse myself into student life. What a
kitchen party that was. Sadly, any further attempt at emulating a student ended
on Sunday - even now I am still trying to recover from the weekend. (Sue)

The kitchen party was to the Romaniacs and their guests what opium was
to great authors of the past – inspirational, but painful the next day. (Celia)

A messy kitchen is the sign of a happy kitchen, and ours was delirious.
(Debbie)

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Romantic Novelists' Association

We work to enhance and promote the various types of romantic and historical fiction, to encourage good writing in all its many varieties, to learn more about our craft and help readers enjoy it.

Romantic Fiction covers an enormous range, from short stories through category romance and much of women's fiction, to the classics. The nature of romantic fiction means that most of these novels are written and read by women. The RNA, however, boasts a number of very successful male authors amongst their membership.